While cooler shopping I was looking at the blue Coleman Extreme coolers and the white Marine Extreme coolers.

The marine coolers seem a lot more solidly built but I was wondering if there is much difference in their insulation / abilities to keep things cold. The Coleman web site seems to be pretty vague about this as well. Does anyone have experience with both types that could weigh in on this?

I've searched and searched but cant seem to find this on any threads.

Savannah: I don't know what it is, but no thread here escapes alive. You'll get 1 or 2 real answers at minimum, occasionally 10 or 12, and then we flog it until it's unrecognizable and you can't get your deposit back.

Can't tell ya anything about the Marine, but I've been very happy with the Coleman Extreme...I think mine's a 6-day. That said, your ice might not last the full 6 days, but with adequate protection from the heat and sun, keeping it off the ground (set it on wood blocks), and opening it only when necessary your perishables should be just fine.

Don't forget, crushed (8# bag) and block (10#) ice is available for purchase from the 3 Arctica ice stations...$3 each last year. Most coolers go 24-36 hours on a bag of ice...the Extremes maybe a little longer.

All ya gotta do is lift the lid and check.

Don't bore your friends with all your troubles. Tell your enemies instead, for they will delight in hearing about them.

agreed w/ Dragon.
Also, You might want to bring 2. One for food the other for beverages. That way you won't have to open the food one that often.
Freeze your meats & freezable meals & freeze the beverages you can.
I freeze my water bottles & keep them inside to top of both coolers as well. Once they get all melty you have ice water to drink. I also keep all my food items inside a larger plastic container inside the cooler so my food stuffs don't ever touch the ice. No icky water that way.

I have the Coleman 5 day cooler (its green) and everything stayed nice and cold, ice got a little melty but not bad. We used it mostly for food though and had other coolers for drinks. I really like the large size of it.

It's worth noting that coleman has two and maybe three levels of it's high end models now.

Generally thickness of insulation is what counts.
Differences in insulation are primarily structural and affect durability.
LeChat has added insulation with good effect.
Reflectix is an effective additive too.

The cup holder depressions are a flaw in design.

Marine coolers typically can use tiedowns too.

Many colemans lack a proper latch which can affect the seal or prevent a big mess.

Right now I'm leaning towards the Coleman Marine extreme, for the durability if nothing else. The heavier / stainless hardware is a nice feature and I've seen one hold 2 large adults sitting on it in 20 foot seas for 7 hours so I guess it will handle anything I might throw at it.

Just would be nice if they weren't so vague about the properties of the marine version and rated them like the regular extremes (5 or 6 day).

Savannah: I don't know what it is, but no thread here escapes alive. You'll get 1 or 2 real answers at minimum, occasionally 10 or 12, and then we flog it until it's unrecognizable and you can't get your deposit back.

Stainless hardware primarily refers to screws.
There is a better strap.

I prefer the marine models and they are starting to show up in bigger stores, but to get the full line means going to specialty stores.
Some have good prices, but this can mean a trip or mail order.
For some models this can mean far too high a price penalty.
The 50 to 70 quart size might be found though.
I have paid as little as 40-50% of retail for the better igloo coolers, often with the tray and other accessories.
Try to get the tray included.

In at least one thread there are links to some good commercial grade coolers.
Expensive, but many think worth the cost.
Far better than anything from coleman or igloo.
A highly recommended brand started at $300-500.

I have seen some that would be hard to break with a hammer.
Sometimes they show up at cabela's or other specialty stores, at good prices for what they are.

Saw a large marine in Wally Mart the other day - I belive it was in the 80 quart range but don't think it was an extreme model. Around 85 bucks iirc.

BJ's Club also had a large one last week, but my wife didn't pay much attention when she saw it. Around 75.00

But we live on an island so they might not stock them at stores further from the coast.

Savannah: I don't know what it is, but no thread here escapes alive. You'll get 1 or 2 real answers at minimum, occasionally 10 or 12, and then we flog it until it's unrecognizable and you can't get your deposit back.

Stock and prices can vary.
You may have an easy time finding them near the coast.

By going into a different walmart district, I had a better selection and paid half as much for the better non-marine wheeled igloos.
I would have paid four times as much for the identical performing marine version.
Should be more choice these days.

(The other walmart district was just over the state line for me. This is a rarity though.)

My DI cooler is one of those wrapped 7 day wonders... holds about 90-100 lbs of DI and it will last 8+ days if used wisely. (As DI storage only to feed other coolers)

I love those igloos for water... Ran 3 last year - one with water, one with a little gatorade, and the one behind the bar was full strength Emergen-C. A bag or 2 of ice each per day, we had water pretty consistantly until Raver Friday, when we went to 2 bags.

I called about the cooler.
Might be the one I used to have.
They want $100.
My guess is they would take less.
It looks good.
Red and chrome.
Like this one
http://cgi.ebay.com/120714993437They also have antique coke machines etc too.